The series tries to provide a comprehensive look at cinema, including places that have less interesting film histories. Mark Cousins focuses a little too much on the careers of less important filmmakers, like Baz Luhrmann, who he gets to interview, instead of more important directors. This is a good introduction to cinema.

Most mainstream moviegoers tend to think that film criticism is basically a matter of telling you which movies you should see, not trying to direct or redirect how you think about them. There’s a little in this documentary that contradicts this premise, but not a lot.

One of the best essay films ever made on a cinematic subject... adroitly combines biography, history, film theory, and philosophical reflection. Muybridge's photographic studies of animal locomotion in the 1870s were a major forerunner of movies. - Jonathan Rosenbaum

Martin Scorsese's documentary about the controversial director of A Face in the Crowd and On the Waterfront. Elia Kazan named names of Communist actors. Martin Scorsese helped Kazan secure an honorary Oscar for his career, and many people refused to applaud because of his actions.

Comments

Hi. Through the Olive Trees is not a documentary. Here some recommendations:

Hollywood (1980)
Hollywood the Golden Years: The RKO Story (1987)
Cinema Europe: The Other Hollywood (1995)
Bergman Island (2004)
Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
Lightning Over Water (1980)
Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)
No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos (2008)
Two in the Wave (2010)